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The Offshore Wind Hub: A Comprehensive Resource for State and Federal Offshore Wind Documents

July 26, 2017

Earlier this summer Massachusetts put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) for long-term contracts for offshore wind energy totaling 400 MW. This solicitation follows passage of “An Act to Promote Energy Diversity” by the Massachusetts legislature in August 2016 calling for 1600 MW of offshore wind by 2027. The full text of this legislation, as well as the complete RFP document, can both be conveniently accessed from one site.

That site is the Offshore Wind Hub – a go-to repository of information and official documents pertaining to offshore wind. Scoping and feasibility studies, siting documents, project proposals, and relevant legislation are just some of the many resources contained in this online library. The database houses hundreds of documents related to technology, finance, economics, siting, and policy on offshore wind for states along the U.S. Atlantic Coast, and is searchable at the state and federal level and by topic.

As the offshore wind industry looks to take off in the U.S., the Offshore Wind Hub promises to be a useful tool for finding important offshore wind information, including the latest updates as well as documents going back to 2002. Policymakers and regulators, industry participants, students and researchers, and environmental advocates may find the Offshore Wind Hub particularly helpful in their work.

And while the Hub currently focuses on offshore wind along the Atlantic Coast, the plan is to expand the geographic reach to include other regions such as the Pacific Coast and Great Lakes. New content will also be added detailing the current status of U.S. offshore wind leases and proposed projects, likely in the form of a clickable map with pinpoints for each lease area.

As an open-access resource, the Offshore Wind Hub provides salient and free information to the public, and in turn accepts contributions of relevant documents. To submit a resource, use this form or write to OSWStaff@northeastwindcenter.org.

The Offshore Wind Hub is a project of the Northeast Wind Resource Center and is managed by Clean Energy Group, with participation by the Business Network for Offshore Wind and the Maine Ocean & Wind Industry Initiative. The US Department of Energy and the John Merck Fund provide partial funding for the project.

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This article was written by Dana Drugmand, Summer Research Assistant, CESA